When The Duke of Westminster's colt Bend Or flashed by the winning post a head to the good of Robert the Devil in the 1880 Derby Stakes, it seemed as if the great race was over. Only it wasn't, because the owners of Robert the Devil lodged a protest with the stewards of the Epsom Downs race course on the grounds that Bend Or was not really Bend Or. The winning horse, they alleged, was actually the one now known to racing history as Tadcaster. As evidence, they presented the testimony of one Richard Arnull, a stud groom at the Duke's Eaton Stud, to the effect that the horse raced as Bend Or was actually produced from the mare Clemence (by Newminster) and not from Rouge Rose (by Thormanby) as stated in the animal's nomination.

The evidence

Aside from Arnull's testimony, the stewards found themselves with little to go by. Accurate records might have settled the issue, but the Eaton stud records were very poorly kept and no foaling records were available at all. Thus, although Bend Or and Tadcaster were distinct in color and type (Bend Or was a handsome golden chestnut with black spots, while Tadcaster was a red chestnut with a single black spot and lop ears), the only guide to which colt had been produced from which mare was human memory. Major Barlow, the superintendent of the Eaton operation, testified that Bend Or was indeed the Rouge Rose colt, as did other Eaton employees, and the stewards ruled in the Duke's favor.

Other considerations

In spite of the stewards' ruling, the parentage of Bend Or continued to be a matter of controversy. Those supporting Clemence as Bend Or's actual dam pointed to the following facts:

Clemence had a superior produce record, making her more likely to be the dam of a horse as good on the race course and in the stud as Bend Or. Her offspring included a very good juvenile filly called Sandiway as well as the dams of major stakes winners Carbine (a great champion in Australia), Le Samaritain, Hebron and Festuca. On the other hand, while Rouge Rose produced no major winners other than (possibly) Bend Or, she is the second dam of dual French Classic winner winner Roxelane and the Manchester Cup winner Red Ensign, so her record was not devoid of merit. Further, both Clemence and Rouge Rose were from strong families.

The noted trainer John Porter held that Sandiway and Bend Or bore a strong resemblance to one another, and both had black markings in their coats. Physical resemblance is always somewhat subjective, however, and can be accounted for by the fact that Sandiway and Bend Or were both sired by Doncaster. As Tadcaster also had at least one black spot, that evidence is also inconclusive.

Although Bend Or and Tadcaster did not resemble one another very closely, a switch could have taken place while they were being sent to the paddocks of a Mr. Barrows prior to being put into training with Robert Porter. At that time, the colts were being handled by people who did not know them well and misidentification could have taken place before their markings were recorded at Mr. Barrows' establishment. Also, foals' coats can change in shade and the exact shape of markings as they mature; thus, Bend Or and Tadcaster may have resembled one another more closely as yearlings than they did later on.

If the Duke of Westminster and those closest to him realized that an inadvertent switch had taken place, they had personal reasons not to correct the record. The name “Bend Or” referred to the ancient coat of arms of the Duke's family, and it would have been natural for him to want the colt that was proving much the superior in training to keep a name that had strong sentiment attached to it.

Major Barlow's testimony was not always clear and sometimes contradicted itself, casting doubts on the reliability of his memory as a guide to Bend Or's parentage.

Without hard and fast evidence, the stewards of Epsom could have felt pressured to allow the results to stand for fear of offending the powerful and wealthy Duke, who wielded far more influence in the racing and breeding scene of that day than did Robert the Devil's owners.

One of the stewards involved, James Lowther, later stated that he had obtained evidence after the ruling that indicated that Bend Or was indeed out of Clemence. Unfortunately, he never disclosed what that evidence was or where he had obtained it.

On the other hand, those who believed Rouge Rose to be Bend Or's dam could point to the following:

Bend Or resembled the good-natured Rouge Rose in temperament and was amenable to handling, including having his feet worked with; this was typical of Rouge Rose's other progeny as well. Clemence, on the other hand, passed on her own unpleasant disposition to her known progeny with regularity, and Tadcaster was like her in not wanting his feet handled at all. Temperament can be considerably influenced by handling, however, and Bend Or's gentle disposition may have been as much the result of good treatment as genetics.

Rouge Rose was also a cribber, and this trait was seen among a number of Bend Or's daughters.

John Huby, the experienced stud groom at the Duke of Portland's Welbeck Abbey Stud, was personally familiar with both Rouge Rose and Clemence and stated that the daughters of Bend Or that he had seen were very similar in type to Rouge Rose. Of course, this argument is as much a matter of subjective judgment as John Porter's was.

Arnull's testimony was as self-contradictory as Major Barlow's, and was further tainted by fact that he had recently received a notice of dismissal from Eaton, suggesting that he was acting out of a grudge rather than out of a desire to make the truth known. Nonetheless, it should be noted that Arnull consistently maintained his position throughout his life, long after it could have brought him any personal benefit.

The numerous black spots in Bend Or's coat could have been inherited from Rouge Rose's sire Thormanby, who was similarly marked.

Bend Or had the same round, well-shaped feet that marked Rouge Rose's family.

The Duke of Westminster bred Clemence to Bend Or in 1882, a mating he would not likely have undertaken if he believed Clemence to be Bend Or's dam.

The evidence from mtDNA

Whether right or wrong, the Epsom stewards' ruling stood and the official records in the General Stud Book regarding Bend Or's parentage remained unaltered. It took until the 21st century for the case to be reopened. This time, science rather than human memory or opinion rendered a verdict, courtesy of a team of researchers at Cambridge University. The key evidence was mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) retrieved from the bones of Bend Or and compared to that extracted from known descendants of Clemence and Rouge Rose in the direct female line. Since mtDNA is passed only through the maternal line, Bend Or would have the same mtDNA as his dam—either Clemence, from Bruce Lowe Family #2, or Rouge Rose, from Bruce Lowe Family #1. The results showed that Bend Or's mtDNA matched that of the descendants of Clemence rather than that of Rouge Rose, indicating that Clemence was in fact his dam. Nonetheless, the General Stud Book continues to show Bend Or as the son of Rouge Rose.

Why does it matter?

From a practical standpoint, it probably doesn't, as Bend Or is now a dozen generations or more back in most pedigrees and his direct impact on modern Thoroughbreds is negligible. From a scholarly viewpoint it is another matter, as Bend Or is the direct male-line ancestor of over 90% of today's Thoroughbreds and had a substantial impact on other lines through his daughters, especially Fairy Gold (dam of Fair Play and Friar Rock).

Regardless of his true parentage, Bend Or was a great racehorse and a sire of immense value. His story can serve as a cautionary tale about being too dogmatic about the pedigrees or purported influence of remote ancestors, for if so famous a horse from a relatively recent time could have a significant issue regarding his pedigree because of poor records and human error, it can only be imagined how many earlier pedigrees are inaccurate—meaning that the ancestors of our modern heroes may not be who we think they are.